Haille Griswold/Tasting Table Add Tasting Table on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover After a long day, making a homecooked meal can feel as daunting as climbing a mountain. Sometimes you just want to turn off your brain, whip up something quick, and relax. That's where frozen meals come in, and one of the most filling options to go for is fried rice. With that in mind, I decided to try and rank frozen fried rice options from six different brands.
Frozen fried rice is the epitome of convenience, plus it's super customizable. Whether you opt to spruce it up with fresh scallions, top it with a fried egg, or toss in some leftover chicken, frozen fried rice can easily serve as a flavorful and substantial dinner. But with so many different brands in the game ranging from restaurant originals to supermarket private lines, it can be hard to decide which one to choose.
If you've found yourself standing in the frozen aisle for a few minutes too long, and going back and forth on whether you want to stick to what you know or try out a new brand that seems cool but might not be as good as your go-to? This article is for you. Here is my ranking of frozen fried rice from six different brands to help you find your next stay-at-home dinner.
Haille Griswold/Tasting Table Whole Foods has an extensive frozen food selection for its private label products, 365 Whole Foods, and I included two types of its frozen fried rice. Now, when it comes to fried rice, texture is key. Unfortunately, 365 Whole Foods fell flat with its fried rice options.
I tried both the chicken and vegetable fried rice varieties. For a vegetable variety, the vegetables themselves are what ranked this brand so low. The vegetable fried rice had bits of yellow onions, carrots, corn, red bell peppers, green peas, and scallions throughout. Both the carrots and bell peppers were completely mushy. The bell peppers were partially broken down, with bits of skin having separated from the flesh. The peas, which were riddled throughout, tasted dry and starchy.
The chicken fried rice had similar textural issues. The bits of chicken, although well-portioned, were spongy and didn't have much flavor. There were egg pieces in the chicken variety, but they were simultaneously grainy and mushy, and broke down a bit during the cooking process. As for the rice and seasoning, I didn't have many qualms. The rice had a solid texture and consistency, and the seasoning on both tasted salty, sweet, and slightly nutty from sesame oil. However, due to textural issues in both varieties, 365 Whole Foods frozen fried rice comes in last place.
Haille Griswold/Tasting Table InnovAsian specializes primarily in frozen meals. This includes one of the better frozen orange chicken brands and sesame noodles, as it puts a focus on popular Asian dishes. Although it has a variety of frozen rice options, I opted to try two classics: vegetable fried rice and BBQ pork fried rice. These were prepared in the microwave and only took five minutes each. Overall, both were pretty average, hence the lower ranking.
The rice consistency was essentially identical in both. The grains were fluffy and didn't clump together. The vegetable version incorporated onion, carrot, red bell pepper, edamame, and eggs. The eggs were moist and held together, but the pieces themselves were small and sparse throughout. The flavor of the red bell peppers added a welcome vegetal note, but when eating a spoonful with a piece of each added ingredient, that bell pepper flavor dominated completely. As for the BBQ pork, there were generous-sized slices of meat, but the meat itself was chewy and leaned on the drier side.
